1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to creating and implementing electronic circuits, and relates more particularly to a system and method for efficiently designing integrated circuit devices.
2. Description of the Background Art
Implementing an efficient and effective method for designing integrated circuits is a significant consideration of electronic component designers and manufacturers. The efficient design and testing of integrated circuits is often an extremely complex and time-consuming task due to the large number of electrical components and separate electrical circuits that typically comprise an integrated circuit. The complexity of the integrated circuit design procedure thus presents a substantial number of obstacles to successfully producing a final product that performs without operational errors.
Referring now to FIG. 1, a plan view of an exemplary floorplan for an integrated circuit 112 is shown, in accordance with the present invention. In the FIG. 1 example, integrated circuit 112 includes a number of circuit blocks 114-118, which are precisely positioned upon a surface of integrated circuit 112 according to a previously determined circuit design. Each of the circuit blocks 114-118 typically includes a substantial number of individual electrical components, including digital logic gates, which are selected to effectively perform the particular function for which integrated circuit 112 is designed.
According to modem practices, the procedure for designing and testing integrated circuit 112 may effectively be performed by integrated circuit designers who frequently use a special computer system to simulate the operation of a specific integrated circuit as the integrated circuit is being designed. The circuit designers may then advantageously test and modify the integrated circuit design to achieve optimal performance and reliability from the integrated circuit without actually re-fabricating the device after every design change or modification.
Due to the complex nature of integrated circuit design, successful techniques for decreasing design time without increasing design errors would likely result in more effective production of integrated circuits. The goals of reducing design time and reducing design errors must therefore be significant aspects of any effort to improve upon the currently existing integrated circuit design methodologies.
In some integrated circuit design procedures, the designing and testing are typically performed in serial fashion, with designers conducting the entire time-consuming design procedure to identify, correct and test a single design defect before any subsequent design defects may be addressed. The foregoing serial design procedure thus restricts the speed and efficiency of the integrated circuit design procedure, and results in an ineffective methodology for designing integrated circuits.
In other integrated circuit design procedures, designers have sometimes attempted to increase the speed and efficiency of the design procedure at the expense of permitting significant design errors to remain in the resultant integrated circuit designs. To compound this design error problem, the foregoing design procedures may fail to provide a coordinated checking system for managing design errors. The lack of a satisfactory design error checking system may result in design errors that are not detected, and also may create additional delays in the already lengthy integrated circuit design procedure.